YMMV / Berserk: The Golden Age Arc

• Author's Saving Throw: Many appreciated the Memorial Edition reinserting scenes the films left out, especially the Bonfire of Dreams and "Wounds," the latter of which was animated for the first time ever.
• Broken Base: A recurring aspect of all Berserk adaptations:
  • The CG is either not too bad, or absolutely distracting. Some feel that it's much better applied here than in the 2016 series especially with the decent amount of 2D animation used while others feel that the medium blend is too jarring and events like the Eclipse look much more silly/awkward than intended.
  • Is it a good Pragmatic Adaptation? Fans feel that it captured the story's spirit and the basic plot of the Golden Age Arc in addition to giving enough characterization scenes, a surprise inclusion of Silat, and a solid conclusion, especially when compared to the 1997 anime. Others feel the story was rushed and lacked too many of the character moments and events from the original with many of the subplots cut down.
• Complete Monster: Griffith is a power-hungry warrior whose physical beauty masks a monstrous inner self. Believing himself destined to reign over a land of his own, Griffith leads his Band of the Hawk in countless bloody, successful campaigns to serve his ambitions, and goes so far as to dispatch Guts as an assassin against political rivals, uncaring when a child is caught up in the crossfire. After forcefully seducing Princess Charlotte in a failed attempt to marry into power, Griffith is subjected to crippling torture by her horrified father; Griffith's only real concern is that he can no longer exert power and respect on those around him, and so when the opportunity arises, Griffith eagerly allies with the Godhand. To complete his ascension to their monstrous ranks, Griffith condemns his entire Band to horrific deaths that damn their souls, while he personally rapes and tortures the most loyal Casca and forces her lover Guts to watch and be mutilated, out of nothing but spite at them for having independence from Griffith's control. Griffith openly proclaims he feels nothing for his supposed friends and the fates he bestows upon them, valuing his own godhood above all else.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Even though he only shows up for one fight scene a lot of fans were happy that Silat was included especially after being Adapted Out of Berserk (1997). It helps that he did have an impressive fight scene.
• Fandom Rivalry: Fans of these movies vs. Berserk (1997). The fans continuously argue over which adaptation is better, though often enough they're united in mocking Berserk (2016).
• Growing the Beard: The CGI in the first film is often criticized as being janky and distracting. However, the second film improved on it noticeably, and the third even moreso. The third film in particular is usually the most well-regarded of the three even by detractors even outside of the visuals, for its better pacing, including well-liked characters like Silat and Skull Knight who had never appeared in animation before, and its horrifying depiction of the Eclipse.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Takahiro Sakurai voices Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy VII Compilation. He is now voicing Griffith, whose lines were done by Toshiyuki Morikawa, Sephiroth's current VA, back in the 1997 anime; Sephiroth is something of an Expy of Griffith.
• Ho Yay: Already present in the source material, but downplayed in the 1997 anime adaptation. Returns in the movie series, with Guts lampshading in what way he believes Griffith wants him and offering "My sword or my ass" as his stakes in their duel.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: A major criticism is that it adapts the Golden Age Arc, the same one covered by Berserk (1997), but in roughly half the running time, meaning that several subplots and minor characters had to be cut or massively condensed. So It's the Same, But Less of It, Now It Sucks, and fans who have been waiting for decades to see post-Eclipse content animated get to keep on waiting. It doesn't help that the animation isn't much better than it was fifteen years ago, just uneven in a different way (with stiff, low-poly CG models replacing Limited Animation and Pastel Chalked Freeze Frames.
• Narm: Charlotte's ridiculous overreaction to Griffith merely touching her breast before their sex scene in the second movie. Some could argue that perhaps he was pinching her nipple, which really does arouse some women to that extent, but it still comes off as a laughable and cringeworthy change compared to how subdued her reaction is in the manga.
• Uncertain Audience: A major reason the films underperformed is that they were meant to be a Gateway Series, but ended up cutting out a lot of the manga's content, leading to them being seen as a "cliff's notes" version that adapts the iconic moments and not much else. This left newcomer fans confused as to why Berserk was considered such a masterpiece, when much of the series is in its slower-paced character-building moments. However, it didn't quite appeal to longtime fans, either, due to being an adaptation of a story that had already seen a decent adaptation (meaning the films were also in constant comparison with that version in the eyes of fans). This put it in a weird place where it wasn't a great introduction to the material, but it also saw criticism as a gift to the fanbase.
• Vindicated by History: Upon their release, the three films weren't super popular, due to the creepy nature of the animation at times, the choice to adapt the Golden Age Arc again, and the fact it cut several elements from the adaptation. Several years later, the films got a slight resurgence thanks to the English dubs, which brought back a lot of the 1997 cast and did an impressive job making all the returning performances feel even better. The final point to bring people's perception around on the films was the infamous release of Berserk (2016), which was considered so bad, that many looked back at the film trilogy and admitted that, whatever its flaws, it was a far more competent and respectable production with its own strengths, such as its high quality traditional animation of which there is plenty. The "Memorial Edition" release also boosted its reputation due to it adding important character-building scenes that were not included in the original film releases, such as "Wounds" and Bonfire of Dreams.

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